


Magic Mercelot

by Onehelluvapilot



Series: Healer Lancelot [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Healer Lancelot, Hurt Lancelot (Merlin), Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Lancelot Has Magic (Merlin), M/M, Post-Season/Series 03, Protective Merlin, physician Merlin, protective Lancelot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:48:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26038939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onehelluvapilot/pseuds/Onehelluvapilot
Summary: Based on these two Tumblr posts (https://clotpolesonly.tumblr.com/post/625896262455230464/okay-hear-me-out-merlinlancelot-but-lancelot and https://clotpolesonly.tumblr.com/post/625911597186138112/pokes-head-around-the-corner-oh-did-someone) from clotpolesonly. It's pretty soft, I'm not gonna lie.Basically Lancelot has healing magic and Merlin is a great physician even though he won't admit it and they are very soft.
Relationships: Lancelot/Merlin (Merlin)
Series: Healer Lancelot [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2140281
Comments: 6
Kudos: 78





	Magic Mercelot

**Author's Note:**

> If parts of this feel familiar, they were posted on tumblr too and one of them was used, somewhat modified, in my other work Lancelot's Magic. It's not stolen from anyone other than myself!

“You shouldn’t have jumped in front of me like that,” Lancelot scolded gently as he tenderly wiped blood away from the burn on Merlin’s chest. The two men had been out trying to solve the case of the strange lights being seen in the forests around Camelot before the knights were sent out to investigate. They had thought that it would be easier for the two magic users to deal with it by themselves. It probably still was for the best, as they were able to use all of their abilities to defeat the Sidhe that turned out to be behind the lights, but it had left Lance in the unenviable position of carrying an injured Merlin back to the castle by himself after they’d been attacked with flying balls of fire. He’d quickly used magic to stave off shock and tend to the head injury where the servant had been thrown against a tree, but there had been fabric burned into his other wounds, which he had needed to clean before he could heal him. After returning to Merlin’s room, he had taken care to numb the area with a simple spell before taking a cloth to it gently.

“I wasn’t going to just let you get burned. You can heal me, but I can’t do the same for you,” Merlin countered. He sat in his bed with his back against the wall, already-ruined shirt ripped up the front, and lays splayed so Lancelot could kneel between them. 

“Oh, so it was perfectly logical then?” the knight teased, and Merlin reached up to cup the back of his neck where he knelt before him and pull him down for a kiss.

“Partly,” he said in a smile against his boyfriend’s lips. “I didn’t want to see you hurt.”

Lancelot kissed him back gently before pulling away. He splayed his fingers wide over Merlin’s narrow chest and closing his eyes. He knew the warlock liked to watch his eyes glow when he used his magic, but he could concentrate better with them closed. Breathing deeply, he knit the skin back together and resolved the blisters. This was the kind of healing Lancelot couldn’t do very often, despite how much he loved to use it. Normally he stuck to enchanting poultices and salves to be just slightly more effective than usual, to heal Arthur and the knights more subtly and gradually so that they would not suspect him, Merlin, or Gaius of sorcery. Only in emergencies, or with Merlin, could he allow himself the vulnerability of laying hands on someone to heal them directly.

“You’re wrong, you know,” he said softly after he’d opened his eyes. The burns on his boyfriend’s chest were closed, covered with pale hairless skin. “You could have healed me too. Just not with magic.” 

“What do you mean?” Merlin asked.

“Your skill as a physician, of course. You have healed me from more wounds than I have you.” Lancelot picked up a small jar of salve from the bedside table and began to spread it over the delicate new skin of Merlin’s chest. Already his movements were less deft, his hands slightly clumsy. Healing magic was often exhausting, and even for one as practiced as Lancelot, it could take a lot out of him.

“Not as well.”

“Perhaps not as quickly, that’s true, but more impressively. It is a greater skill to treat wounds with herbs and knowledge than with power. I wish you would not doubt yourself, for you are the most talented man I have ever met.” Bracing his hands on the wall on either side of Merlin, he leaned in to kiss him again. His arms buckled unexpectedly, leading them to crash together, foreheads bumping and noses jabbing into each other’s cheeks. He instantly tried to scramble off, concerned that he was hurting the smaller man, but Merlin was laughing.

“Take your chainmail off at least, before you lie down in bed with me.” Lancelot blushed and instantly did as he was bid, pulling off his standard and then wriggling with some difficulty out of his hauberk. He didn’t bother with his gambeson, as the padded shirt would be plenty comfortable for both of them. He let Merlin pull him into bed and wrapped him up in his arms. He may not always be able to keep him safe, but at least he could heal him when he was hurt, and for that he was thankful.

* * *

  
  


“Thanks, Leon, but I’ve got him from here,” Merlin dismissed the First Knight when they reached the entrance to Gaius’s chambers. He couldn’t remember if he’d left the book of magic out and didn’t know if that potion Lancelot had enchanted was still glowing, so it would be best if he didn’t come in.

“Are you sure?” Leon asked, not yet moving from his place under Lancelot’s arm.

“I’ll be okay,” the injured knight agreed, patting his shoulder before removing his arm from it. “Thank you for the help getting up here.”

Leon still looked unsure, but he didn’t follow them in as Merlin helped Lancelot to limp painfully over to a cot. The knight had taken a mace blow to the thigh during a border dispute on patrol. His hauberk had dispelled a lot of the force behind it, which was likely why it hadn’t broken the bone or caused too much bleeding, but it had still been painful to walk on and to ride with. He breathed out a massive sigh of relief as soon as he was sitting. Merlin helped him unlace and shimmy out of his breeches without needing to stand up again, revealing a massive purple and black bruise covering his entire right thigh. It stretched all the way up to the line of his smallclothes and almost down to his knee and was peppered with a few small red cuts where the points of the mace had pierced through his chainmail. Merlin hissed in sympathy at the sight of it and instantly moved to make him a willow tree bark tea for the pain. If they hadn’t been running low on honey, he would’ve used some to sweeten it, but he needed what they had for the puncture wounds to prevent infection. After making sure the knight had drank all of it, he pushed him gently to lie back on the cot. It was a testament to the pain Lancelot must be in that the stubborn knight did both without complaint.

Gaius handed Merlin a roll of bandages and a jar of St. John’s Wort, but didn’t offer any help beyond passing him things or try to step in to take over. He knew that his apprentice was more than capable of treating the injury by himself and watched with pride as he mixed up a poultice. With any other patient, he would simply use the Enchanted-Bruise-Salve that the healer himself had mixed up, but unfortunately, it wouldn’t work. Magic always came with a price, and part of the one Lancelot paid was that healing spells didn’t work on him. He had never seemed to mind though, and had frequently reassured Merlin that his skills as a physician were all he needed.

“Thank you, Merls,” he said, voice free of tension or any other indication of pain, as the younger man applied the poultice and bandaged the wounds. “I don’t know where I’d be without you.” From anyone else, that might have come across as teasing, even if it they did also mean it. From Lancelot, it was simply genuine. Merlin leaned down to kiss his brow, cupping his head in his hands as he did so.

“I’m sorry I can’t heal it,” he whispered softly against his forehead.

“Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing?” Lance countered. He felt the servant draw away, to try to object. “I know know you meant,” he quickly preempted whatever self-disparaging statement he was about to make. “But you have skills outside of magic and worth beyond your destiny. Neither of those things are what I love about you.” Merlin blushed and Lancelot patted the bed beside him, encouraging him to sit down. The young physician eased himself down ever so slowly, clearly trying not to jostle the knight’s injured leg, and  _ that _ was what he loved about him. His caring heart, gentle soul, warm lips, and hardened hands. At some point, maybe, they’d stand up and limp painfully to the bedroom, but not yet. For one thing, he wanted to wait until his leg was aching a little less before trying to move it, but more pressingly, he had not yet had the chance to properly thank Merlin, and what better way could that be accomplished than with a kiss.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> If you have a moment to drop a comment, I'd love to hear what you think!


End file.
